My name is Nick Riley and I have worked in education for almost fifteen years. I’ve been fortunate enough to work in various settings, including non-public schools, residential treatment centers, comprehensive public schools, and medical/clinical centers. My background is as a school psychologist — and Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP #3967) — working in both south Los Angeles and San Diego county.

I currently work in southern California as a full-time as a school psychologist in a specialized program for youth with significant social-emotional needs who struggle in a traditional public school environment.

These adolescents present with various life experiences and mental health diagnoses including trauma, foster placement, suicidality, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorders, depression, and various anxiety and attachment disorders.

In order to further support the youth with whom I work, I have an additional specialization in behavior modification and maintain a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA #1-18-32027) certification. However, I have found through my work that focusing solely on changing the behavior of a client often ignores the underlying issue which led to the behavior in the first place, and disregards a person’s individualized attempts to process their emotions.

Due to my enhanced focus on ‘going deeper’ with the clients I support, I am in the process of accruing clinical hours towards licensure to become a Marriage and Family Therapist to support my existing training in mental health counseling as a school psychologist.

My goal — through individual therapy with adolescents and coaching sessions with parents — is to help adolescents and their families have an increased understanding of how their own life experiences have influenced the ways in which they communicate with others and cope with the stressors of the world.

If your family is in need of support in terms of navigating the special education process — such as discussing your student’s appropriate educational programming, understanding assessment results, present levels of performance, areas of need, goals, services, or educational placement — I can walk you through the process of how to understand and conceptualize the need-based supports within your child’s school district and how it applies specifically to your child.

I am currently providing counseling services to adolescents, parent coaching sessions, and educational consultation under my Educational Psychologist license.